House Almarus
''House Almarus Formation: 514 B.C.E. Founder: Ulfidren Almarus the Divine Sigil: Phoenix Words: Reborn From the Ashes Seat of Power: Citadel of Ashes, Ulfidren (Located in The Rills) Current Head of House: Vilarius Almarus 'Years of the House' House Almarus: 514 B.C.E. - 485 C.E. House Almarus-Almark: 485 C.E. - 702 C.E. House Almarus: 702 C.E. - Present 'Vassals' House Amarath House Clars House Colby House Faroe House Hawkborn House Talhart House Varakar House Vren 'The House of Almarus' House Almarus was founded by Ulfidren Almarus the Divine and has been ruled for the last twelve centuries by his descendents. The House has for its entire exsistance, held the role of leadership over the Eastern Fold, either as Kings during the times of the Kingdom of Almarus, both the Old Kingdom and the New Kingdom, or as the High Lords of Ulfidren during the times of House Alamrus-Almark. The House places great emphasis on loyalty and honor which has shaped its history for centuries, producing many of the lands greatest figures. House Almarus has blood ties to House Tyrong of Ios and a pact of marriage with House Varakar of Almarus. In Ios, relations with the people differ from group to group, with many groups mostly remaining neutral. Relations can be considered good between House Almarus and the Church of Ios with a special set of understandings in place to preserve the peace. Amoung the Houses of Ios are House Almarus' greatest allies and enemies with high tensions often producing hostile interactions with House Sigismund while years of cooperation with House Arnor have produced a mutal exsistance of peace, understanding, and aide. 'House Words' The House words for House Almarus are "Reborn from the Ashes", a phrase not only matching their sigil, the Phoenix, but also the houses' history from the Houses' very start, its rising from two millennia of darkness and fear to lead the Eastern Fold into the future and again with the rebirth of the Kingdom of Almarus. 'Knightly Orders' Several knightly orders have sworn fealty to House Almarus, each serving a different role in service to the head of the house. The first and most important of these orders is the Order of the Phoenix Guard who oversee the protection of the head of House Almarus and the Citadel of Ashes, sworn to defend the house's head with their lives at any cost. The Phoenix Guard are formed entirely out of Almarians, having only one exception to this in the last millenia, training from a young age and remaining at their posts until they either die or are released from service by the head of House Almarus. The second order is the Order of the Knights of the White Lions who draw their roots from Ulfidren Almarus the Divine and from the capitol region of the Kingdom. The White Lions serve as additional protection to the house's head, but are also sworn to defend his family and property, forming an extension to the Phoenix Guard. Each knight of the order is tested in combat through training and a special trial before being allowed to fully join the order. The last and newest order to swear fealty to House Almarus are the Blackwood Knights who have been charged with aiding in the defense of the port city of Emor, an important trade city and naval station to both House Almarus and the Kingdom of Almarus. 'The Wrath of Filoshin' ''As told by His Grace's most venerable servant, Jerick Amarath of Laris Van Dark was the day when the Nilvinarian sails appeared off the shores of Io's Reach, dozens of them, a fleet not seen since the the times of King Marian. Like the rising tide, the enemy poured onto the shores by the hundreds, the men of Io's Reach putting up a stalwart fight against overwhelming numbers, but for all the lives spent to halt the landing, we were forced back. The next five months were spent in misery as winter settled in, the enemy pouring their endless hordes into our lands as we fought to hold them back. For each of us that fell, we brought three of them with us and before long, the fields were soaked in our blood. It was during the height of winter when the snow fell thick and the cold froze the earth, that King Herlith Ellisian reached the slopes of Mount Maverian. It was here that we faced him, outnumbered and worn from months of fighting, but never more resolved to die in service to the King and our people. Amidst the fires of the Ancient Filoshin we fought King Herlith, the slopes turning red and muddy in minutes. When the dead had piled across the slopes from the valleys below to the peaks, and when our strength dwindled from the hours of battle, did the enemy face the wrath of our past. Wielding the blade named after the Ancient of the mountain with the fury and rage to match, King Vilarius smashed into the enemy ranks on foot, his men following behind as the battlecries echoed over the mountain. An unstoppable force, they cleaved a bloody path up the mountain to reach our remaining forces. The coward Herlith turned tail and fled as his forces were run down or crushed by Vilarius' advance. The victory came swift as the enemy either fought and died or surrendered and died, their months of artrosities against our people payed back three times. Upon the peak, the Nilvinarian advisor to Herlith, Korlen Berat, and his remaining men were plunged into the fires of the mountain under the watch of six thousand men and women. The men still whisper of the King's wrath on the field, the dozens he tossed aside to the the ground, they speak of how it was the blood of the Ancients that runs through his family. If it is the blood of the Ancients, then may Ulfidren help our enemies, but I know this, the Nilvinarians will forever remember the wrath of they faced that day.